Take a break every 90-120mins and work better!? Who else will try this with me?

[Margie]

I recently joined a webinar about balancing well-being and work and the speaker mentioned that if you take a 1- to 15-min break every 90-120 mins, you'll actually work better! And feel better!

I'm looking for the science behind it, but the speaker attributed this to BRAC (Basic Rest and Activity Cycle) which is connected to circadian rhythm (I think??) and follows the cycle of you brainwave activity.

• So far, I've found this article from Mattress Nerd (thank you google, 😂) and would be interested to learn more about it if anyone has intel! (Looking at you @Valerie_C 😉!)
• In the meantime, I'm going to try these breaks out this week - even if it's just a 1 min stand up from the desk or a couple jumping jacks looking out the window between meetings. I figure it can't hurt! 

Who's going to try this with me? Drop me a note below!

[jstanford1000]

I’m interested.

[Margie]

Awesome! I'm going to start scheduling these short breaks or reminders in my calendar to keep me accountable. How are you planning to start? Will be really interesting to see if my energy changes after doing this for the week.

[zoeieann]

I’m in!

[mmyogabeach2]

I'm in too! Have some 5-minute solo dance party scheduled for 11am today 💃  and then will take a quick stretch and some cat/cow's for 10 mins at 1. Excited to try this!

[MamaCook]

Dance breaks are my go-to during my work days at home 🙂

[jstanford1000]

Would anyone be up for scheduling a time to join a Zoom together to take a solo dance break or stretch or meditation break or something? I feel like this would make me feel more accountable. For example, I could set up a zoom for 4:30 PM PT today if folks are interested.

[Margie]

Hey @jstanford1000 ! I'm totally game for this.  How's your Friday looking? (I know I should be taking breaks today and tomorrow... but it's looking a little busy...clearly need an accountability buddy!). If you're up for it, Friday at 12p PT works well for me! Who else can join us? 

[Anix]

Great post, I think I will have to try this out as well.  I will already be taking a break on Friday at noon as I have to go take some photos for an upcoming event, so a bit work and break at the same time.

[Valerie_C]

Yes! Thanks for the tag @Margie 

1 sleep cycle consists of stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 and then REM sleep and lasts 90 min long.  We repeat these  sleep cycles 4-6x a night depending on how long we sleep. The thought is (also mentioned in the article you referenced) that these 90 min cycles of different brain frequencies can continue during the daytime when we are awake.  As such we should work when our brain waves support peak performance and rest in times between.   

Dr. Andrew Huberman a neuroscientist at Stanford as a podcast all about neuroplasticity (ability for our brain cells to change from learning new things).  He likes to have a 90 min uninterrupted session of work a day, perhaps even 2 if he is able to schedule that time.  After a 90 min work session he advises a 20 min of deep rest aka take a break from super focused thinking to allow all the brain cells to process that information and work even more efficiently by allowing the plasticity to happen.

Dr. Andrew Huberman breaks down the science of this in his podcast linked below:

https://podcastnotes.org/huberman-lab/how-your-brain-works-changes-huberman-lab/

[mmyogabeach2]

Thank you for sharing this article, @Valerie_C ! 90 mins of uninterrupted work can be hard to come by, but I'm going to try to block time out next week to give it a shot!

[HeatherW2266]

I work from home and for myself. The biggest challenge I have had is to carry bad habits ( working with no breaks) into my self employment. Towards the end of last year I started scheduling in naps or just "veg time" on the days I can not take the time, I work in silence or do 20-30 minutes of yoga. It is making a world of difference. I am not at the place where I can give a full 90 minutes but the 30-45 is worth the effort.  I encourage even 20 minutes. Put it on your schedule and STICK to it